Thursday, December 10, 2015

DUBAI – Shanshan Feng fired back-to-back 67s today to return to her familiar
place atop the leaderboard going into the penultimate round of the
Omega Dubai Ladies Masters at Emirates Golf Club

The
world number six from China again went bogey-free to post 10-under for
the tournament, two shots ahead of Dame Laura Davies and five clear of
Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall and Thailand’s Pornanong
Phatlum, the winner in 2013.

“I
am really relaxed. I have done well so far and will just keep trying do
the same things again,” said Feng, who is targeting a record third title
in Dubai following her successes in 2014 and 2012.

“This
(Majlis) course is about making birdies. If any player who shoots nine
or 10 under in one round will stand a chance of catching up with me,”
said the 26-year-old, who holds the record of the
lowest 72-hole score, a 21-under par 267 she posted in 2012.

“I
am not thinking about it. Every year conditions are a little bit
different, so, it doesn’t really matter if I break my own record or not.
I just want to enjoy and be relaxed this week. I have
had two good days so far, and there is another two days to go,” said
the Guangzhou ace, who is also an Omega ambassador.

Davies
fired consecutive opening rounds of 68 to sit at eight under par,
despite playing with a painful torn tendon in her heavily strapped left
ankle.

She
made five birdies against one bogey on 17 and said: “Probably a better
round today than it was yesterday because of the wind. It was really
tricky.
Hit a lot of long irons into the par 4 because a lot of the longer
holes were into the wind today; whereas, we were sort of downwind
yesterday. No, very pleased, 31 putts, pretty good, happy.

“I
don't think I'm at full power, especially with the driver. Doesn't
really matter. We can take half a club more. But I'm not quite hitting
it as
long as I normally do, and I think it's that I can't load up and really
get through it because I can feel it a little bit, but maybe that's
helping me hit more fairways. Swings and roundabouts, really.

“I
just have to keep doing what I'm doing. In my mind at the start of the
week, I thought four 68s would be really good. It might not be good
enough
but I would love to shoot two more 68s and see what happens.”

Phatlum
and Hedwall both posted four birdies on the Majlis Course. Phatlum
said: “Actually I'm a little bit sick and I just try to play like my
game
and trust my swing. I talk with my brother a lot to get like no
pressure. So today, putting very well also is the key today.”

Hedwall
said: “I'm just happy I started rolling in some putts. Today I didn't
have a single bogey, so that felt nice. After China, after Xiamen, I
had eight weeks off and changed my grip and been working hard on that.
It's nice that it's paying off.”

Frenchwomen
Ariane Provot and Jade Schaeffer are tied for fifth on four under par,
while overnight co-leader Liz Young from England carded a second
round of 75 to slip back into a share of seventh on three under par.

First-round co-leader Carmen Alonso had a 77 to slip back into a
share of 14th place, while social media sensation Paige Spiranac, pictured below, from the United States missed the cut at
12 over par after a second round 79.

“It
was a tough week for me and a lot of stress,” said a tearful Spiranac.
“It was a great learning experience for me and I’m going to take a lot
from
it. I’m upset because it’s been a so much stress on me and pressure.

"I
was invited here and wanted to prove that it was for other reasons than
just my social media but hopefully more people will watch this
tournament and watch the next two days and watch the
leaders and know how amazing these players are.”